I'm so excited to release my newest shawl pattern today - ATMEN! What does Atmen mean? It means breathe in German (read below to find out the back story of Atmen). With Atmen I knew I wanted to design and knit something that was meditative and soothing but that was still fun to make. You know the kind of pattern I mean.....the knitflixing kind...lol. 

After swatching with Brooklyn Tweed Arbor (DK) I knew that ATMEN would be full of bounce, squish and texture - my fave kind of triangular shawl! A slipped-stitch rib pattern and color changes make this an engaging yet meditative knit. The all-over ribbing creates a shawl that is cozy, springy and substantial. Add an openwork border and you’ve got all the components of a knitting project you can lose yourself in at the end of a stressful day. The finished shawl is a stylish, easy-to-wear accessory perfect for wrapping yourself up in all year round. 

So pick your fave Netflix show or movie to binge, cast on and relax, let go, take a deep breath and just.....breathe.

Save 20% OFF with code "atmen20" through until June 5th, 2017, midnight, PST.

THE STORY BEHIND ATMEN

"Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is the only moment." ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

This shawl holds a special place in my heart. I designed and knit ATMEN earlier this year while pretty ill with a bad bout of pneumonia. I've been learning a lot about meditation the last few years and while sick I really truly had to learn how to "breathe" again and take a step back and focus on things within myself that I'd been neglecting for way too long. Being sick was not fun but the time that I spent knitting Atmen while healing parts of my soul made parts of it worth it in that "isn't it weird how the universe works sometimes" kinda way. It helped me deal with the loss of a loved one (and more) and Atmen will forever hold a piece of my heart because of it. The stitches in Atmen allowed my mind to calm and relax, and allow me the freedom to knit while I recouped and worked on myself.

During the knitting of ATMEN I also learned some new things about myself. Isn't it amazing what a knit can do for you? I started using and fell madly in love with essential oils (I'm a huge Saje addict - they have tree nut free carrier oils!!!) and yoga. While stuck laying in bed for weeks I found myself whilst knitting dreaming of feeling free - yet strong and couldn't stop thinking about yoga. I believe in listening to my soul so as soon as I was able to I got on the mat. It's been life changing. Yoga, partnered with the use of aromatherapy, has made my daily life happier, healthier and I'm continuing on my path to educate myself and learn more about these wonderful new passions of mine. I feel like pneumonia and Atmen brought me these gifts and each time I look at this shawl I'm reminded of the journey I've made these last 5 months and how much I've grown. It seems fitting since in a few weeks I'll be turning 40.

I owe a big thank you to my lovely friend Natasha (woolvanknits) for her help during the pneumonia phase..lol, and for her friendship. She's taught me so much (about oils and more) and was a constant sounding board for me during the darkest moments this spring. A thank you as well to the equally lovely Sarah (of Solace Knit Co.) for giving me tons of info and advice upon starting my journey into essential oils and yoga. You made what could have been a confusing time an easy and fun transition! Thx for answering all of my endless questions :) I adore you both.

YARN & COLOR CHOICES

ATMEN uses 6 skeins of the springy DK weight yarn Arbor by Brooklyn Tweed. This yarn is so lovely to work with and just shines in the slipped rib used throughout! I cannot say enough about how great it was to knit with. I loved every minute of it.

When subbing in yarns for ATMEN look for a yarn that shows texture well, has bounce and feels great to work with! Some testers were even able to sub with with sport weights (getting gauge of course) such as Quince & Co. Chickadee, which is also an equally fabulous yarn! 

I wanted ATMEN to allow you to have some fun with your palette. I love giving you guys room to express yourselves creatively and add in what colors you're loving at the moment. ATMEN works great done using 3 tones but it's also great for using up leftovers, doing an ombre effect or even speckles! So have some fun when choosing your combos! In our testing pool there were greys/blacks used, butters/creams, neopolitan ice cream tones, turquoises, and more! It was so fun to see the different personalities show through! 

PATTERN DETAILS

YARN
Brooklyn Tweed Arbor (100% Wool, 145yds/133m per 50g skein), [DK]

3 skeins of MC, OR approx 435yds/399m of DK weight yarn, shown in colorway Thaw
2 skeins of CC #1,OR approx 290yds/266m of DK weight yarn, shown in colorway Morandi
1 skein of CC #2, OR approx 145yds/133m of DK weight yarn, shown in colorway Nightfall

GAUGE
25 sts and 21 rows = 4in/10cm in Slipped Stitch Rib (given in pattern)

NEEDLES
US 7/4.5mm - long circular recommended

NOTIONS

• Crochet Hook (similar size as needle used)
• Small amount of contrast yarn for cast-on
• Stitch Markers - 4
• Removable stitch marker
• Blocking wires *optional
• Blocking pins
• Yarn needle

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Wingspan approx 71in/180cm (from tip to tip) and 29.5in/75cm deep after blocking.

Share your ATMEN on social media with hashtag #ATMENSHAWL

WHERE TO BUY ATMEN & CUSTOM ATMEN KITS

You can purchase a copy of ATMEN on Ravelry, in our shop and on Etsy. The pattern is a downloadble PDF that is fully written and includes a schematic, pattern stitch counts and a chart. It has been professionally tech edited and also thoroughly tested.

You will also be able to find lovely professionally printed pattern booklets of ATMEN (that include the digital version direct to your Ravelry library) at Beehive Wool Shop, Churchmouse Yarns & Teas, Tolt Yarn & Wool, 88 Stitches, Urban Yarns, Valley Yarn and more in the next week or so. 

And cause it's just so darn fun Churchmouse Yarns & Teas will also have listings for colorways I've chose of ATMEN for sale in their online shop! I had so much fun picking them all out at the Churchmouse headquarters the other week! I'll announce on here and in our newsletter when those are live! 

Are you a shop who would love to carry beautiful pattern booklets of ATMEN?

Visit our Wholesale Page HERE for more info! 

STAY TUNED + THANK YOU

I'll be sharing some more info about ATMEN the next few weeks - the custom kits, our fab tester versions and more!

A big thank you to all of you for your continued support of my patterns! I adore you guys! I hope you enjoy knitting ATMEN as much as I did! I can't wait to see them all! xoxoxo

Thank you as well to my amazing photographer K Good Photo and my gorgeous model Toby Suffesick. And to my wonderful testers for making testing so darn fun (I'll be sharing who they are and some of their projects on the blog soon). 

I hope you find ATMEN as soothing and meditative to knit as I did. 

All images © K Good Photo